Tag Archives: place value

It has been a few weeks since our last weekly update. Flu bugs (even for me) and portfolio preparations have taken up a bit of my blogging time, but we have continued to be very busy in our classroom! Following our November break we dug into our research on dinosaurs and wrote some fact-filled reports. Students used a variety of media and print sources for their research: online websites, nonfiction books, and our classroom bulletin board display. We then transitioned into our first novel study by reading the first two books in the Dinosaur Cove series and doing a novel study booklet for the second book. We tied this into our Daily 5 work on “schema”, which is accessing all of our background knowledge to make connections to new text. The next time you sit down to read a new book with your child, please ask what his or her schema is for the book. As writers, we have learned how to focus on one main idea and add supporting details, and we are now focusing on effectively organizing those ideas and details. In math, we have been building up our skills with number concepts through the use of base-ten blocks. We reviewed 2-digit numbers and we are now transferring that knowledge to 3-digit place value. We are also working on pre-algebra skills by finding the “mystery number” in a variety of equations, again with the use of manipulatives to help us visualize our thinking. We wrapped up our mapping unit in social studies (check out your child’s wonderful treasure map in the portfolio!), and we are now exploring the lives of four children from different communities around the world.

Thank you to all of the parents who came in to chat about your child’s progress and to celebrate their achievements in their portfolio. I am looking forward to seeing the rest of you in the week ahead.